Interproximal dental caries detection using Photothermal Radiometry (PTR) and Modulated Luminescence (LUM)

Frequency-domain photothermal radiometry (FD-PTR or PTR) has been used to detect mechanical holes and demineralized enamel in the interproximal contact area of extracted human teeth. Thirty four teeth were used in a series of experiments. Preliminary tests to detect mechanical holes created by dental burs and 37% phosphoric acid etching for 20 s on the interproximal contact points showed distinct differences in the signal. Interproximal contact areas were demineralized by using a partially saturated acidic buffer system. Each sample pair was examined with PTR before and after micro-machining or treating at sequential treatment periods spanning 6 hours to 30 days. Dental bitewing radio graphs showed no sign of demineralized lesion even for samples treated for 30 days. μ-CT, TMR and SEM analyses were performed. Although μ-CT and TMR measured mineral losses and lesion depths, only SEM surface images showed visible signs of treatment because of the minimal extent of the demineralization. However, the PTR amplitude increased by more than 300% after 80 hours of treatment. Therefore, PTR has been shown to have sufficient contrast for the detection of very early interproximal demineralized lesions. The technique further exhibited excellent signal reproducibility and consistent signal changes in the presence of interproximal demineralized lesions, attributes which render PTR a reliable probe to detect early interproximal demineralization lesions. Modulated luminescence was also measured simultaneously, but it showed a lower ability to detect these interproximal demineralized lesions than PTR.     

Identification of the photoluminescence response in the frequency domain modulated infrared radiometry signal of ZnTe:Cr bulk crystal

In this work we investigated the photoluminescence response in the frequency domain modulated infrared radiometry signal observed of ZnTe:Cr bulk crystal. In mid-infrared range, three characteristic phenomena are observed in ZnTe:Cr crystal: absorption and emission of IR photons (2–3 μm) and the free carrier absorption. This implies that the modulated infrared radiometry signal yields information about the effective infrared absorption coefficient (photothermal response) as well about the recombination lifetime of carriers related with the infrared photoluminescence emission. In this paper, the frequency equivalence of the two-term independent exponential photoluminescence decay model in order to explain the measured frequency characteristics is proposed. The measured recombination lifetimes (2.3 μs for two exponential decay model and 1.5 μs for one exponential decay model) are in good agreement with the values given by other authors (about 2.5–3.0 μs). Moreover, we found that the photothermal response is uncorrelated with the photoluminescence one, in contrast, to the photocarrier response.     

Characterization of enamel caries lesions in rat molars using synchrotron X‐ray microtomography

Dental caries is a ubiquitous infectious disease with a nearly 100% lifetime prevalence. Rodent caries models are widely used to investigate the etiology, progression and potential prevention or treatment of the disease. To explore the suitability of these models for deeper investigations of intact surface zones during enamel caries, the structures of early‐stage carious lesions in rats were characterized and compared with previous reports on white spot enamel lesions in humans. Synchrotron X‐ray microcomputed tomography non‐destructively mapped demineralization in carious rat molar specimens across a range of caries severity, identifying 52 lesions across the 30 teeth imaged. Of these lesions, 13 were shown to have intact surface zones. Depth profiles of fractional mineral density were qualitatively similar to lesions in human teeth. However, the thickness of the surface zone in the rat model ranges from 10 to 58 µm, and is therefore significantly thinner than in human enamel. These results indicate that a fraction of lesions in rat caries possess an intact surface zone and are qualitatively similar to human lesions at the micrometer scale. This suggests that rat caries models may be a suitable analog through which to investigate the structure of surface zone enamel and its role during dental caries.     

离体龋齿的光热锁相成像检测试验

牙齿龋损是人类一种广泛存在的口腔疾病,如何能够尽早的发现早期龋齿,对患者牙齿龋损的预防与治疗具有重要意义。介绍了基于光热效应的光热锁相热成像技术,光热锁相热成像技术具有无损伤、高效率及探测面积大等优势被广泛应用于各类材料的无损检测。基于光热锁相热成像技术原理对人为模拟龋损的人类离体牙齿组织进行成像检测试验研究。首先开展了对不同模拟龋损位置离体牙齿的光热锁相成像试验,采用防酸指甲油对牙齿组织测试面进行开窗受控龋损(开窗大小为5 mm×5 mm),其中模拟龋损部位分别选择在牙齿组织的邻接面及牙颌面。试验结果显示,牙齿组织模拟龋损位置热波幅值增大,相位滞后增大且光热锁相成像的幅值图与相位图与X射线成像相比对模拟龋损部位表现出高敏感及高特异性;光热锁相成像技术对邻接面龋损比牙颌面龋损具有较高特异性。其次开展了对平滑面牙齿组织样本的多天(0,1,2,4及6 d)模拟龋损光热锁相成像跟踪试验研究,牙齿组织龋损程度采用X射线方法进行量化。试验结果表明,当龋损时间小于6 d时,X射线方法无法对龋损位置进行有效识别,而采用光热锁相热成像技术检测模拟龋损1 d的牙齿组织时,幅值差为3.82,相位差为10.57°,证明光热锁相热成像方法对牙齿组织龋损具有较高敏感性。提取的光热锁相成像幅值与相位与龋损时间具有良好的相关性。     

Lock-in thermography for nondestructive evaluation of materials

Photothermal radiometry allows for remote measurement of local harmonic heat transport where the phase angle (between remote optical energy deposition and resulting temperature modulation) is sensitive to subsurface features or defects. Phase sensitive modulation thermography (or ‘lock-in thermography’) combines the advantages of photothermal radiometry with the fast technique of infrared imaging thereby revealing hidden defects in a short time. In this paper the principle and various applications are described and analyzed. While this lock-in thermography is based on remote optical heating of the whole area of interest, one can heat defects selectively with modulated ultrasound which is converted into heat by the mechanical loss angle effect which is enhanced in defect regions. This ‘ultrasonic lock-in thermography’ provides images showing defects in a way that is similar to dark field imaging in optical microscopy.     

Theoretical analysis of the surface thermal wave technique for measuring the thermal diffusivity of thin slabs

We present a theoretical analysis of a photothermal radiometry method of measuring thermal diffusivity, in which thermal radiation is detected from a small area, displaced by known distances from an area of modulated optical excitation. Expressions for evaluating the measurements and their main systematic errors have been worked out for thermally thin slab samples. The measurements, data and error analysis techniques are illustrated with experiments on metallic and polymeric samples. These show that the main systematic errors are associated with the spatial resolution of the apparatus and heat losses to air and thermal radiation.     

亚表面圆柱体对热波的多重散射问题

极端条件下的传热问题是工程热物理研究中的重要课题。基于非傅里叶热传导定律,采用波函数展开法,研究了含圆柱缺陷非透明体中热波散射问题。基于热传导波动模型给出了物体中热波多重散射问题的一般解。温度波由调制光束在材料表面激发,缺陷表面的边界条件为绝热。具体分析了几何参量、各物理参量对温度分布的影响,特别分析了热波波长对温度变化的作用,并给出了温度变化的数值结果。研究结果可望为红外辐射技术、热波成像等问题的分析提供理论基础和参考数据。在检测金属材料缺陷空间分布的激光热波探测系统中应用。     

横向激光光热偏转相位法测量金刚石薄片的热扩散率

本文介绍横向激光光热偏转装置的优化设计及其利用相位信息测量CVD金刚石薄片的热扩散率,并和脉冲激光光热辐射方法测量的结果相比较.     

牙齿组织光热动态特性仿真与试验研究

调制激光作用牙齿组织发生散射形成光子密度波, 而由于光热效应产生热波, 基于一维介质辐射传输漫射近似方程与一维热传导方程建立了调制激光作用牙齿组织半透明混合介质的一维热波数学模型. 利用该模型仿真分析了牙齿龋损特性参数(牙釉质龋损层光吸收系数、散射系数、热扩散系数及龋损深度)对光热辐射动态响应特性的影响与规律. 利用红外探测器(HgCdTe, 2–12 μm)记录808 nm半导体激光激发牙齿组织产生的热波信号, 由锁相放大器计算热波信号的幅值与相位. 通过频率扫描试验获得了牙齿组织的光热动态响应, 利用多参数最佳统计拟合方法得到了牙齿组织特性参数. 结果表明光热辐射测量对牙齿组织不均匀性和龋损特性均具有较高敏感性与特异性.     

Structural and Spectroscopic Investigation of Biomimetic Composites—Promising Agents for the Remineralization of Native Dental Tissue

Biomimetic materials (biocomposites) with an organic-mineral composition related to natural dental tissues (enamel and dentin) are obtained for the first time and their structural and optical characteristics are studied. It is demonstrated by a complex of structural and spectroscopic methods that in the formation of biocomposites, the introduced organic component, bearing a number of amino acids, does not affect the structure of the inorganic component (carbonate-substituted calcium hydroxyapatite) of the sample. The carbonate-substituted calcium hydroxyapatite synthesized using a biogenic source of calcium, which forms the basis of the biocomposite, has a luminescence spectrum similar to that of apatite tooth enamel. The spectrum of the intact dentin of a human tooth has a broader luminescence band than that for the enamel spectrum. It is determined that both organic and inorganic components contribute to the dentin luminescence band. The features found in the luminescence spectra of intact tissues and in simulating biocomposites can be used to develop a procedure for effective early diagnosis of the demineralization of hard dental tissues and general dental examination.     

光热辐射测量技术应用于材料物性和缺陷的无损检测

描述了光热辐射测量术的特点、原理和测量装置，并扼要介绍了材料热扩散率、材料表面伤痕和内部缺陷的无损检测。     

Contrôle de matériaux d'origine biologique par méthode photothermique: intérêt de la détection pyroélectrique

Photothermal methods are well adapted to thin multilayer material analysis. In the particular case of biological materials, which are thermally fragile, low excitation power is required. We have studied whole human blood sedimentation by using photothermal radiometry and a photopyroelectric technique. Results obtained with random- and sine-modulated excitation are discussed. Evolution laws of plasma thicknesses and optical absorption coefficients during the process have been determined by identifying the parameters using different estimation methods. It appears that results are consistent with theoretical predictions of our 2D-thermophysical model and also with the values measured by the well-known Westergreen reference method, usually used in clinical analysis. Finally, in order to extend the investigation field of the pyroelectric method, particularly in the domain of biological materials, we have analysed the possibility of using the sensitive pyroelectric sensors without direct thermal contact with the sample and detecting the temperature changes at the sample surface through a thin air monolayer.     

硅太阳能电池的调制载流子红外辐射动态响应与参数分析

建立了调制激光诱发硅太阳能电池的少数载流子密度波数学模型,并利用光致载流子辐射检测掺杂浓度、阻抗及载流子输运参数. 对频域响应曲线中的双弯曲效应进行了研究,构建了小交流信号作用的太阳能电池等效电路拓扑结构,仿真分析了不同掺杂浓度、阻抗电阻和载流子传输参数对频响曲线拐点的影响. 通过光致载流子辐射频域扫描实验与多参数拟合检测了单晶硅太阳电池的施/受主浓度、并联电阻和载流子输运参数. 结果表明：光致载流子辐射技术检测大面积太阳能电池频响曲线的双弯曲是由电容效应所引起的,建立的数学模型可定量描述和预测检测结果,并用于测量太阳能电池的掺杂浓度、电阻和载流子输运参数. 关键词： 调制自由载流子辐射 扫频检测 PN结电容 参数测量     

Minority carrier recombination lifetimes in n-type CdMgSe mixed crystals measured by means of the photothermal infrared radiometry

Minority recombination lifetimes of n-type CdMgSe mixed crystals were estimated by using infrared photothermal radiometry (PTR) amplitude and phase frequency spectra. The results obtained by the PTR method indicate that the lifetimes of optically generated carriers in CdSe and Cd_xMg_1?xSe crystals are about 0.1 μs. The diffusion length of minority carrier in n-type CdSe single crystal was found to be 4.42 μm and it is in a good agreement with the literature value. It was found that with the increasing thermal-to-plasma component coefficient A the carrier concentration increases as expected from PTR theory.     

Evolution of thermal conductivity of In3Sbβ Teγ thin films up to 550 °C

The temperature dependent thermal conductivity of In–Sb–Te thin films has been measured by modulated photothermal radiometry in the 20–550 °C range for samples with different Te content. Significant changes with temperature are observed and ascribed to a sequence of structural transformations on the basis of in‐situ Raman spectra. The data suggest that the as‐deposited material consisting of a mixture of polycrystalline InSb_0.8Te_0.2and amorphous Te first undergoes a progressive crystallization of the amorphous part, mostly above 300 °C. Further increase in temperature above 460 °C leads, for higher Te content in the alloy, to the formation of crystalline In₃SbTe₂, intertwined with a less conductive compound, possibly InTe and/or InSb. Upon cooling to room temperature, the initial polycrystalline InSb_0.8Te_0.2phase is mostly recovered along with other compounds, with a slightly higher thermal conductivity than that of the as deposited material. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of laser beam size on measurement contrast of thermophysical gradients in layered structures using thermal-wave techniques

The effect of the laser source spotsize on the measurement sensitivity of layered system using photothermal radiometry (PTR) technique is presented. The beam size effect on the PTR measurement sensitivity is theoretically examined and experimentally demonstrated using a carbo-nitrided C1018 steel sample. The experimental results using a focused beam and an expanded beam for a carbo-nitrided C1018 sample validated the theoretical prediction, according to which the expanded beam showed a much larger magnitude change (contrast) in both amplitude and phase than results with a focused beam.     

Dental biothermophotonics: A quantitative photothermal analysis of early dental demineralization

Photothermal Radiometry (PTR) is applied as a safe, non-destructive, and highly sensitive tool for the detection of early enamel demineralization. Teeth were treated sequentially with artificial demineralization to simulate controlled mineral loss. PTR frequency scans were performed at the same surface spot before and after each treatment. After 4 days of demineralization, the signal changed significantly compared to sound enamel scans. A coupled diffuse-photon-density-wave and thermal-wave theoretical model was developed to describe the biothermophotonic phenomena in the turbid medium consisting of a demineralised layer, sound enamel, and dentin. As a result of the fittings, thermal and optical properties of the layers were obtained.     

PTR系统空间分辨率受光斑尺寸影响的理论和实验研究

给出光热辐射测量（ＰＴＲ）系统空间分辨率的定义。研究了入射光光斑尺寸对空间分辨率的影响，理论分析及实验研究表明，聚焦后的入射光能大大提高系统的空间分辨率。     

Measurement of surface absorption in optical materials by the method of laser photothermal radiometry

The present work is devoted to the development of the method of laser photothermal radiometry with a view to increasing its spatial resolution over the depth of the specimen when surface layers of the substance of thickness about 1 μm or less are to be investigated. As an example, results of an investigation of radiation absorption in the surface layer of a lithium niobate crystal are presented. The absorption index measured at a wavelength of 1.08 μm was ∼0.6 cm⁻¹. “Polyus” Research Institute, 3, Vernadskii Ave., Moscow, 117342, Russia. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 82–84, January–February, 1997.     

Measurements of the optical absorption coefficient of Ar8+ ion implanted silicon layers using the photothermal radiometry and the modulated free carrier absorption methods

This paper presents a method of the measurement of the optical absorption coefficient of the Ar⁸⁺ ions implanted layers in the p-type silicon substrate. The absorption coefficient is calculated using a value of the attenuation of amplitudes of a photothermal radiometry (PTR) and/or a modulation free carrier absorption (MFCA) signals and the implanted layer thickness calculated by means of the TRIM program. The proposed method can be used to indicate the amorphization of the ions implanted layers.